What Is TACoS (Total ACoS) on Amazon?
TACoS (total advertising cost of sales) is ad spend divided by total revenue, both ad-attributed and organic, times 100; it shows how much of a brand's whole Amazon business goes to advertising.
Formula: TACoS = ad spend ÷ total sales × 100.
Example: a brand spends $5,000 on ads in a month. Ads drive $20,000 in attributed sales, and total sales are $50,000. ACoS is 25% and TACoS is 10%.
How to read the trend
Read TACoS month over month:
- TACoS falling while total sales grow: ads are building organic sales, the healthy pattern
- TACoS rising with flat total sales: you are paying more to keep the same revenue
- TACoS falling with falling sales: ad spend was cut and organic sales did not fill the gap
Why it matters
Ads on Amazon lift organic rank, so part of their effect lands in sales that ACoS never counts. TACoS captures that, and it matches how finance teams see the business: advertising as a share of revenue.
Common mistake
Comparing TACoS between brands or categories without context. A product in launch, a brand with heavy repeat purchase and a commodity category all have very different healthy levels. Our TACoS guide covers how to set a target.